PHILADELPHIA -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Philadelphia District completed construction on a fourth Alternate Care Facility in East Orange, New Jersey as part of the ongoing response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The Philadelphia District has provided planning, engineering, contracting, and construction management support to the State of New Jersey and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to address possible medical facility shortages due to COVID-19. The mission is part of the ongoing nationwide federal, state and local effort to respond to the public health emergency.
"Teamwork is essential to accomplishing any mission and that's certainly been the case with respect to the ongoing COVID-19 response. I'd like to thank all of our federal, state, and local government partners, and of course the medical community, for their great cooperation and support — as well as our contractors doing the actual construction. It’s been a 24/7 effort to construct the Alternate Care Facilities in New Jersey and many have sacrificed to carry out this vital mission," said District Commander Lt. Col. David Park.
The USACE Philadelphia District awarded four contracts:
East Orange General Hospital, East Orange, N.J.
1) Awarded on April 7 to Cutting Edge Group, LLC to convert currently unused hospital space into a 250-bed facility; construction began April 9 and was completed on May 3, 2020.
Bergen New Bridge Medical Center, Paramus, N.J.
2) Awarded on April 8 to Conti Federal Services, LLC to convert the hospital’s gymnasium into a 30-bed facility; construction began April 9 and was completed on April 22, 2020.
3) Awarded on April 15 to DynCorp International, LLC to construct a 100-bed medical tent in one section of the hospital parking lot; construction began April 15 and was completed on April 29, 2020.
St. Francis Medical Center, Trenton, N.J.
4) Awarded on April 13 to Sand Point Services, LLC to convert portions of the hospital into a 37-bed facility; construction began April 14 and was completed on April 27, 2020.
At each phase of the mission – planning, engineering and design, contracting, physical construction – teams worked tirelessly to accomplish key tasks.
"It was a major challenge to assess, design and manage the construction of Alternate Care Facilities with such a short turnaround," said USACE Philadelphia District Chief of Engineering Pete Tranchik. "From the teams who completed initial facility assessments, to our designers, our contract specialists, and our construction management team - everyone stepped up to the plate in our nation's time of need."
Mission Background
In late March 2020, the USACE Philadelphia District formed teams and conducted facility assessments in close coordination with the New Jersey State Police and the New Jersey Department of Public Health. They then provided the State with the completed assessment reports, which contained information on the possible conversion of existing buildings into alternate care facilities
In total, the Philadelphia District completed 42 facility assessments in New Jersey, Delaware and in eastern Pennsylvania (the Baltimore District led overall USACE support to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania).
The District also provided engineering support related to the installation of pre-stocked, rapidly deployable Field Medical Stations at the Meadowlands Convention Center in Secaucus, N.J., the New Jersey Convention Center in Edison, N.J., and the Atlantic City Convention Center.
During emergencies, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the federal government's primary public works and engineering support agency. As part of the unified national response to emergencies, USACE deploys hundreds of people to provide technical engineering expertise.
About the USACE Philadelphia District:
Established in 1866, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Philadelphia District manages water resources of the Delaware River basin; builds facilities for the Army and Air Force; and provides engineering and environmental services for other agencies. We serve more than nine million people across portions of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Our reach extends around the world with our support to Overseas Contingency Operations.